2019 Goals and OMG for January

It is already the fourth day of January! Goals for 2019 have been rolling around in my mind for many days, so am listing them as well as my One Monthly Goal for January.

1. Catalog my UFOs (unfinished objects), WIPs (works in progress), and ideas for quilts to compile a master list of quilts to be finished or started.
I printed the project sheets pictured above last year and completely forgot about them. They will be helpful for me to see at a glance how far along I am with each project.

Here is this list so far:

  1. A baby quilt for my future grandson, nicknamed “Little Bear” by my daughter. He is due in May, and my daughter wants a quilt similar to the one pictured above that I made for our 2-1/2 year-old granddaughter, detailed here. I have the fabric in the colors she wants – blue, gray, green, mustard, and burgundy. This is my One Monthly Goal for January.
  2. Craftsman quilt I blogged about here, for my husband. I have The pieces are cut and some blocks are sewn.
  3. A quilt for granddaughter #1, who has requested a “green” quilt. She is 17, and I made her a quilt when she was 12, but I suspect it has been folded and put away in her closet – hah!
  4. Scrappy Trip Around the World, like this one made by Margaret Ferguson whose feed I follow on Instagram (@quiltsbymargie47). This should be a great project for my scraps.
  5. Another Mercyful quilt for Bernie at Needle and Foot. I blogged about the ones I sent to her in this post.
  6. Participate in the Hand-Pieced QAL hosted by Patty and Kristin. It has been a long time since I practiced block construction by hand, and it should be very enjoyable. If you’d like to hone your hand-piecing skills, read all about it here.
  7. Antique quilt revival, blogged about here. This quilt is just waiting to be restored and loved again! I did a similar project with a vintage quilt top for my niece in 2015.
  8. Lori Holt’s Vintage Christmas Sampler I have the book and intend to start early!
  9. Texas Flag quilt by Aspen Tree – I have the pattern, and the fabrics are cut.
  10. Farm Girl Vintage quilt I started in 2015, to be used as a runner across the comforter in our guest bedroom. All the blocks are completed.
  11. Make little quilts for my kitties. They are all such good helpers and deserve their own pallets!
  12. Moorland Stripe Crocheted Blanket by Attic24 – I have all the yarn and the pattern.
  13. A crocheted scarf using Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn in Wheat. I started it this week and also want to make an afghan from the remaining yarn.
  14. Vintage Christmas Sampler cross stitch by Lori Holt. I have the book and threads, and am waiting for the oatmeal 10-count linen to be back in stock.

2. Help my husband build fabric and yarn shelves on the wall where yarns and needlework supplies are pictured above.
My fabric stash is currently stored in the closet, and my theory is that if I can see what I have, I won’t order more. Like many other quilters, I start the year with a commitment to use fabric on hand and refrain from new purchases, but my resolve usually falters by February!

3. Purge and organize my scrap jar and scrap bins.
When my mother-in-law passed away in 2017, I inherited a beautiful glass canister that has been perfect for scrap storage. But it’s full! The scrap bins are a mess inside and have no room for additional scraps. If I organize and purge SIWNU (Scraps I Will Never Use – I made that up!), I will be more likely to use scraps in future projects. Cleaning and organizing makes me happy!

4. Keep “tweaking” my sewing room arrangement to make everything easy to find and convenient.
Rearranging furniture keeps me motivated and excited. I recently turned my cutting/ironing table around to make it more accessible, and it made such a difference! To make the table surface less crowded, I removed the iron and put it on the table behind it (next to my sewing machine). Now my cutting table is exclusively for cutting. My husband made the ironing table as well as a table to hold my laptop, notebooks, pens, and craft items. He enjoys carpentry in his building, and I am happy to provide him with projects!

5. Complete repairs on the vintage quilt I purchased last year and blogged about here.
This quilt is just waiting to be restored and loved again! I did a similar project with a vintage quilt top for my niece in 2015.

6. Create items for purchase in my Etsy shop and add a second shop.
My plan is a Christmas-themed shop with quilts, table runners, mug mats, etc., and another shop to sell quilts similar to the hand-tied ones I made for my kids. As I become more interested in quilt repair, I may offer that service in my shop. We shall see!

7. My garden goals for spring are to have a smaller garden and to plant more flowers.:
During last summer’s heat, part of our large garden sweltered, and it was difficult to keep up with watering. This year we will reduce the size for easier maintenance. Last year I planted two packets of zinnias and was astounded at the abundance of butterflies and bees that came to play. We got as much enjoyment from watching them as from the vegetables! So one area of the garden will be reserved just for flowers. Here is the schedule::
Planting in March:

  • Tomato plants
  • French Breakfast Radish
  • Lettuce

Planting in April:

  • Seeds purchased from Burpee: Musquee de Provence Pumpkin, Crimson Sweet Watermelon, Butterstick Zucchini, Contender Green Bush Bean, Scarlet Runner Pole Bean, Dragon’s Tongue Wax Bush Bean, Supremo Cucumber, Armenian Sunrise Cantaloupe, Garden Sweet Pea, Mammoth Dill, Lady Lavender
  • Cowpeas – purple pod and black-eye
  • Bell pepper plants
  • Zinnias

8. Walk more!
We both got FitBits last year and began walking early mornings. We started a little too strong, walking 5+ miles per day, and my husband developed a knee problem. The doctor fixed him right up, but we lost a couple of months in the process. When we began again, we had more realistic goals, and now generally walk 2-1/2 to 5 miles, four or five times a week. Too much rain this winter created too much mud on our dirt roads, so walking was more difficult. Holidays and colder temperatures have slowed down our motivation. We have a few days of sunshine coming up, so we hope to start walking again.

Here’s hoping we all accomplish our goals in 2019! I am linking this post to Patty’s One Monthly Goal for January.

Summer Bits and Pieces, Mug Mats, and Garden

L-R – Top: Daughter’s mug mat, front and back
L-R – Bottom: Son-in-law’s train mug mat, front and back.

The pictures above are of mug mats I made for my daughter and son-in-law. These are pretty much the only projects I’ve finished this summer! I’ve been very neglectful of blog posting this summer, mostly because I’ve been very busy with the garden.

My DIY hubby made a kitty bench for the kitties to perch on and look outside.
I covered it with a flannel cat fabric, and they fight over space on it,
so much that I’m considering having him make another one – lol!

Other than peppers, my garden is pretty much non-producing at this point, but I had a successful first year of a “big-girl” garden. I’ll do a post later showing before/after photos of my garden from plowing it to building a pergola to full glory. I already have plans for next spring! I canned tomato sauce, ketchup, salsa, pepper relish, pickled jalapenos, jalapeno jelly, pickles, and wild plum jelly

One day I was shopping while my husband was in a meeting, and I wandered into a Michael’s craft store and found some Red Heart “Unforgettable” yarn on sale for $3.99/skein. They only had two skeins of this beautiful variegated and soft yarn called “Parrot”, so I decided to make a winter scarf for myself. I’ve been picking it up in the evenings while watching TV.

My husband made me a little shelf unit to house my tea supplies. We bought a whistling teakettle, and I also purchased an infuser teapot. In spite of the heat, I’ve really enjoyed my evening cuppa.

About mid-July, my husband got a FitBit and decided we should start walking every day. I’m really pleased that he is motivated to get his “step-quota” in each day. We’ve worked up to between 4 and 6 miles a day. We walk early in the morning while the temperatures are below 80 degrees. We are loving the old logging trails and views of meadows and pine trees. We live in a beautiful national forest on a dirt road, so all the road are unpaved with rustic views.

My quilting projects are waiting for my attention. I hope to become more focused now that gardening is taking a back seat and the 100+ degree days are (hopefully) behind us.

The kitties have found many ways to relax and sleep.

I hope you are enjoying your end of summer!

Craftsman Quilt and Garden Projects

A quilt for my DIY guy is in the works. My husband, wno loves to tinker in his building, has built birdhouses, a variety of boxes and a ruler organizer for my sewing room, our deck railing, shelves for our pantry and bathroom, and a ton of other treasures for me and our family. Now he is building me an arbor for the garden he just plowed! So I want to make something just for him. I found a really cute collection from Dan Morris Design “Craftsman” for Quilting Treasures and ordered yardage. It is even more colorful in person.

I think the Craftsman pattern by Pine Tree Country Quilts will be the perfect choice.

“In other news . . .” the garden is nearly ready for planting. My husband rented a tiller for the tractor and plowed about a 40 by 50 foot space over the weekend. It is the biggest garden we’ve ever had with lots of space to make pathways and have room for watermelons and pumpkins.

Before planting can begin, the arbor will be built. I’ve always wanted a rose and flowering vine arbor next to my vegetable garden! We set the posts yesterday and will start putting up boards tomorrow. (I say “we” meaning I will be the holder of screws and drills and help level the boards!) I ordered two climbing roses and wisteria, and I purchased a couple flowering vines at Lowe’s. I can’t wait!

Fresh Tomato Pie

I’m not sure how I missed eating a tomato pie in my lifetime, but now that I have eaten one, I love it! This pie makes good use of summer tomatoes. It’s a little like eating fresh tomato pizza – the cheese mixture is like a hot cheese dip, and the tomatoes retain their shape, firmness, and juicy, tangy sweetness. When I first thought “tomato pie” I imagined it would be watery, but it isn’t. It smells wonderful while baking and tastes good freshly baked as well as when it has cooled down!

I requested the recipe from @filisfay after she posted a photo of hers on Instagram. I halved the recipe and made a biscuit-type crust, added green onions and lemon thyme from my garden, and used a bit of pepper jack cheese along with cheddar. I’m thinking that additions of Gruyere as well as bacon would be good!

Fresh Tomato Pie
by “Filisfay” on Instagram, tweaked by me

Pre-baked pie crust (I didn’t pre-bake mine and it was still great)
5 tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick (I used 2 big beefsteaks for my 8-inch pie plate
Salt
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil or other fresh herb
2 cups shredded cheese, any variety
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup diced sweet or green onions (my addition)

Slice tomatoes, place in a colander, sprinkle salt over them, and let stand 10-15 minutes. (This is supposed to “pull water out” of the tomatoes”) Blot tomatoes with paper towel and place in pie crust. Add basil on top of tomatoes. Mix together cheese, mayonnaise, onions, and garlic powder, drop in dollops over tomatoes and basil, and spread evenly, covering tomatoes. Bake at 350 degrees on bottom rack until cheese is bubbly and a little brown, about 30 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing. Store any leftovers in refrigerator or freeze in individual slices.

Pie Crust
1 cup self-rising flour
2 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
Cut shortening and butter into flour. Add milk & stir lightly with fork. Turn into floured board and knead a few times. Roll into circle for 8 or 9 inch pie.

I realize this may not look as good as it tastes, but trust me on this!

Patchwork American Flag – New Projects and Old

There is a wall space in my kitchen that just begs for something quilted, and I think this patchwork flag is going to fit nicely. Julie of Running Stitch Quilts posted her Scrappy American Flag Quilted Wall Hanging, and this is my version.

Julie is working on a pattern, but I am impatient and worked it out myself using a photo of an American flag and a photo of Julie’s wall hanging. She used Freedom by Sweetwater, so I ordered six mini charm packs from Fat Quarter Shop and got them for $4.48 each. I picked out the ones that were in the right color scheme, and now I have enough left over for other projects!

Yesterday I was looking for some fabric I had purchased back in early 2016 for a quilt called “Tapestry” that is in the Fat Quarter Style book. I found the fat quarter bundle, but I am missing the yardage I purchased for this project. It is possible that I used it as cushion for packing something else when we moved last July, but I’ve looked in as many unpacked boxes as seem reasonable, and I still can’t find it. I am hoping it is hiding somewhere I haven’t looked yet, because it makes me sad.

Farm Girl Vintage blocks today

The start of Farm Girl Vintage in May 2015

However, while I was looking I came across the Farm Girl Vintage blocks I started in May 2015, and I happily put them on the design board to see how they all look together. I started off making 12-inch blocks before I realized that if I wanted to use all 45 blocks in a quilt, I needed the 6-inch blocks. When I lay out the blocks for a quilt I will try to have a mix of both. I still have about 10 blocks to go, so I pulled and cut fabric for them and will try to finish those up this month.

I have to include photos of some of the harvest of our first garden here on our acreage. It was an experiment to test the soil, and it is a success. We have 7 tomato plants, and they are loaded with juicy beefsteaks! We have 2 squash plants, 4 pepper plants, and onions that have produced, and corn, okra, and green beans that haven’t matured yet. We can’t wait to increase the size of the garden and quantity of veggies next spring.

My DIY Guy

Before he retired last year, my husband used to talk about how he was going to “make things with wood”. Now that he has organized his garage and acquired new table saws, he is ready for projects, and I came up with a few ideas to help him fulfill his carpentry dream. Here are some of the things he has made in recent weeks.

He made a holder for my acrylic rulers
He fashioned a large rustic bird-feeder to make feeding easier for the growing population of cardinals, blue jays, robins, and smaller birds that frequent the other two feeders. When we first moved to this house, we rarely saw any birds, in spite of the fact our yard backs up to thick trees and a small creek.
He placed a bird bath close to the feeders and planted a crape myrtle, one of our favorite trees. Next spring I hope to fill this little garden with wildflowers and herbs. I can see all this from my sewing room.

He built this gorgeous shelf above the tub in my bathroom. He based the design on a picture I liked from this blog
BEFORE: I wanted a small island in the kitchen, so he refinished and re-purposed this buffet. The wood on it was nice, but we wanted more of a contrast with the wood of the kitchen cabinets, so he painted it dark espresso and made a new top for it (pictured below).
AFTER: Although the drawers are missing in the “before” shot, he replaced the pulls on the drawers with ceramic knobs.
He got to practice his “round-over” and sanding skills to make this nicely finished top for the island

With the island in place, we reorganized and simplified the kitchen, so it all looks less cluttered, and we are loving it. It’s always fun to have a new look in your home. Now he wants more projects!

2014 – A Few Non-Quilting Highlights

In October, Randy and I attended a charity function and decided to really
go all out with a long dress and a tux. It was fun to play dress-up.

Our beautiful baby girl married her wonderful guy in January. In the second photo,
Randy and I try valiantly not to cry as they dance their first dance.

Early summer we enjoyed the fruits of a fairly successful vegetable and herb garden.

We vacationed with our son, daughter-in-law, three grandchildren ages 15, 13, and 11, and our daughter and son-in-law at a really neat vacation rental house in Bulverde, TX and had our picture made at a nearby Mexican restaurant.

I am a trained storm spotter and self-declared weather nerd, so during spring and summer I can’t wait to see storm clouds rolling across the horizon.

In October and November we traveled to see our daughter near Dallas and Randy’s family near Tulsa, Oklahoma. We stayed in hotels instead of with our families which surprisingly made our visits more fun!

Top photo: Dallas skyline – we used to live near Dallas, and this sight is always a thrill for us. In the next photos are quick car shots of my beloved Oklahoma – beautiful skies, rolling hills, gorgeous fall trees.

December has been very happy. Randy retired,
so we bought a red Ford F150 to celebrate!

Christmas was so much fun. Even Buddy and Katy celebrated. We went to our son’s house early Christmas morning, then came home to our cozy house.
It was a great year! I am looking forward to 2015 and will have my resolutions in hand by tomorrow.